Add a Row of Numbers to Lollipop’s Keyboard

Who ever thought that something so small as a virtual keyboard on a smartphone display would become such a big business – we have many keyboards to choose from when you are using an Android device. These is always a stock Android keyboard that comes with each new operating system, but many run to the Google Play Store and download a third party app, such as SwiftKey, Swype, Minuum, Fleksy and many more. Most of the third party keyboards offer extra features that the stock Google keyboard just doesn’t offer, however, each year, Google’s keyboard does get more sophisticated, and such is the case with the new Lollipop version.

With the onset of Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google is headed in a “Material Design” phase, so the keyboard received a ‘material’ overhaul and added a few new features as well. One thing I demand on my keyboard is a separate numbers row – I hate going back and forth to type in numbers, and I find myself using numbers a lot. I may be the exception to the rule, but I just require that feature in any keyboard I use, so I am happy to say that our friends over at Cult of Android have discovered that you can get a numbers row on the new Android keyboard for Lollipop. The one problem is that they make it a little tricky to enable that feature – one of my gripes about pure Android…not a whole lot is simple, and it should be. First and foremost, you must have the keyboard on your device, so go HERE and download the Google Keyboard and once you have it installed and setup the keyboard, follow the instructions listed below:

First, Open up the Settings app and tap “Language & input” – Secondly, Tap the options button alongside “Lollipop Keyboard” and please, Note: If you have Lollipop installed, it could be called “Google Keyboard” instead – Next, Tap “Appearance & layouts” and then “Customized input styles” – next, Tap the plus button, and then select your language – Under “layout,” select “PC” – Tap “Enable,” then ensure that your new layout is checked as an “Active Input Method” and next time you want to use it, just tap the globe key to switch it on. Please keep in mind, that this option makes the keyboard larger, so it definitely works better on a device with a larger display, but will work with any size display. Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know if you have given this a try and what you think about it…as always, we would love to hear from you.